By Joyce Kryszak
http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wbfo/local-wbfo-767711.mp3
Buffalo, NY – United States Senator Hillary Clinton said Tuesday that the Senate is prepared to pass a bail out package Wednesday night to encourage the House lawmakers to act.
Senator Clinton held her first conference call Tuesday since the primary election ended her presidential bid. The rare call with reporters underscored the urgency Clinton said is needed to address the financial crisis. She said the Senate is prepared to vote first to push the rescue plan forward. She said Congress needs to act quickly.
Some local institutions, however, say that so far the turmoil is having no impact whatsoever in Western New York. An M and T Bank spokesman said that it's business as usual at M and T. According to spokesman Chet Bridger, thanks to the bank's conservative management, it has very little exposure to the mortgage-backed assets effecting some other institutions. But Senator Clinton said there is evidence the Wall Street mess is already trickling down to Main Streets everywhere. She said her office is getting thousands of calls from people across the state saying they can't get loans for their small businesses.
Clinton said she hopes that House lawmakers are not waiting until people are hurting so badly that they clamor for lawamkers to pass a bail out plan.
Most agree that low to middle income Americans would feel the credit pinch first. Bryan Cacciotti is executive director for Homefront in Buffalo. The agency helps low wage home buyers. He said it is a matter of time before the crisis is felt by their clients.
Clinton said the Senate leadership believes they have enough votes to pass a bill. That vote is expected Wednesday evening after the Jewish holiday has ended.
She said there are ways the bill was made more palatable, including the proposal to increase FDIC insurance protection from $100,000 to $250,000. But she said lowering the amount of the bail out might also make it easier for House lawmakers to accept.
Click the "listen" icon above to hear Joyce Kryszak's story now or use your podcasting software to download it to your computer or iPod.